Breakfast links: Welcome

More tourists for DC: DC tourism increased 3% in 2012, setting a record high. The big draws were museums and memorials. DC fared better in the recession than elsewhere. (Examiner)

Robberies up on Metro: Crime has declined overall on Metro due to safer parking lots. But robberies, mostly people stealing phones, has increased. Transfer stations like L'Enfant Plaza and Gallery Place are the biggest targets. (Post)

DC ready for armed march: A radio host proposed marching with loaded rifles from Arlington Cemetery to DC. Police Chief Cathy Lanier plans to enforce DC gun laws. (Wash. Times) ... Side note: Both ends of the Memorial Bridge are actually in DC.

Raid affordable housing for summer school: The DC Council approved $4 million to keep summer school open to more kids. But the funds came out of the $51 million Mayor Gray pledged to increase the amount of affordable housing. (Post)

Route 1 urban or suburban?: A Costco with a huge parking lot and a dense mixed-use development are both coming to Route 1. Does Fairfax want it to be a walkable urban corridor or strip malls? (WAMU)

Transit union opposes Circulator: The WMATA workers' union isn't pleased about the Circulator expanding. They say it would cost jobs, but Mary Cheh says it means better service for the same number of jobs. (Circulator workers are also union.) (WJLA)

"Roll models" help women bike: WABA's program to help more women bicycle is starting to get results. They've picked 10 women "roll models" who can help friends and acquaintances overcome obstacles, like what gear they need. (Post)

Seriously, chill, NYC: Sommer Mathis, who covered CaBi's rollout extensively, patiently explains to New Yorkers that all of the complaints about Citibike stations are nothing new. Here, at least, they mostly vanished once the program opened. (Atlantic Cities)

Nick Casey is a Project Manager at the Center for American Progress. He and his wife live in Takoma DC. Nick is originally from the west side of Cleveland and attended Denison University. His posts do not necessarily reflect the views of his employer.

David Alpert is the founder and editor-in-chief of Greater Greater Washington. He worked as a Product Manager for Google for six years and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He now lives with his wife and daughter in Dupont Circle.

The more encouraging (and I think important) news about route 1 is the fact that the state is ready to really study a transit option. BRT would work great right now (and the REX bus is a good intermediary step) but some sort of rail option with good planning could totally transform the area.

@drumz - Exactly! The fact that they are about to study the transit options on the corridor is huge! The amount of development that is starting to happen (of which the Beacon of Groveton is the first), especially on the northern end of the corridor, will quickly stress the limited transit options through the corridor. Additionally, that development will be unlikely to spread south without increased transit (and other infrastructure).

JimT: They are not planning to get a permit. The Post story said that both MPD and Park Police are planning to meet them and stop them if they try to march, unpermitted and with loaded rifles, across the bridge.

It's difficult figuring out exactly where the gun exhibitionists plan to march. If Memorial Drive is part of the cemetery, they won't be allowed there. Memorial Bridge and the island are certainly part of the District, so they won't be allowed there either. Maybe they can move this event to Loudoun County?

The loaded rifle protest scares me; it only takes one idiot to fire a random shot, and the DC police may be forced to defend themselves and draw their weapons... It sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, especially considering Arlington National Cemetery and the National Mall will be crowed with tourists...

It also angers me that the loaded to file protestors are claiming their protest will be non-violent. Carrying a loaded weapon in public is an inherently violent action, in my mind, I.e. intentionally intimidating and threatening, and an intentional demonstration of power/force in violation of our city's laws. I hope the DC Police, National Park Police, and other relevant law enforcement coordinate closely and try to mitigate this developing situation.

Proposing moving the protest to Loudon County is ludicrous - these protesters WANT a confrontation, the laws of DC be damned.

@drumz: I don't really think there's room on Route 1 for any sort of dedicated bus lanes right now. Traffic's squeezed as it is. Even insofar as there's a service road parallel to the highway, it doesn't go all the way along the road. I don't see extending it all the way as a viable option because too many development parcels back up right against the highway. (Including the Beacon, actually.)

Honestly, fifteen years ago buses could have been part of any discussion. Route 1 has moved beyond that. I know nobody will listen to me because it costs too much, etc., but the only viable option right now is rail. And I'd take it underground; it'll be disruptive, but not as bad as tearing out an entire lane of the highway.

@AWalkerInTheCity, Route 1 is to be rebuilt with a 32' wide median strip reserved for a future transit line which could be BRT, LRT, Metro. The project was discussed on GGW last year: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/15727/route-1-widening-would-divide-fairfax-communities/. The corridor is a long way from having the density and job centers that would really support a Metro extension. The study may recommend light rail connecting to the Metro at Huntington. Transit in that corridor will be studied and argued over for 10 years or longer before any decision is made.

Adam -- it only takes one idiot to light a firecracker or misfire his car muffler as well. The possibilities for accidental catastrophe are endless. These marches and the risks they bring to law enforcement personnel were a big reason why California banned open carry recently.

thats the portion south of Woodlawn. I was wondering about the section closer to Huntington Metro.

I agree that the existing (and likely near future) density is more compatible with BRT/LRT than heavy rail metro. I've been under the impression that there is not room in much of the northern part of the corridor for seperate ROW.

@DavidAlpert: OK thanks. A small point, but if they start just outside the cemetary gates, I don't see how they could get anywhere near the Memorial Bridge (or even the short bridge over the channel/DC line) before being stopped by Park Police.

It definitely won't be easy but I think there is plenty of ROW to work with. You already have a lot of people dependent on transit down there and more room than on Columbia Pike.

It would be helpful to know where people are driving to/from in the mornings/rush hour. Are a lot of people going to places that are metro accessible? How many are getting on the beltway? A light rail line combined with a scenario where the yellow line could be made to run up to rosslyn and then out to the Silver Line would be huge.

tl;dr I wouldn't say its too late. There are a lot of ways to get creative still.

The protesters carrying loaded weapons is very disturbing. They should also not protest at the Arlington Cemetery. I support the First Amendment but this group should use better judgement in this (although their judgement seems to be lacking althogether). Can you imagine the outrage from conservatives if Code Pink protested at Arlington Cemetery on Independence Day?

Note: Plenty of Row between Beacon Hill and when you get closer to Belvoir. But at least at Beacon you start getting a better secondary street network to work with, or a much more radical option of a tunnel through beacon hill somehow. I'm just spitballing here.

Any transit on Route 1 needs to connect Huntington Metro to Fort Belvoir. I drive this stretch everyday, and I see many drivers in military uniform and even more with military plates/bumper stickers. Not all of them may be going to Belvoir, but I'd guess a good portion are.

Can we just set up a reservation in Wyoming or something where all these nutjobs can happily (ignorance is bliss after all) spend their lives waving their rifles around and doing whatever else they do all day?

As a (former) Route 1 resident, I've beat the drum several times before on this forum about the road. Here's the quick-and-dirty:

- The County's Comprehensive Plan envisions a right-of-way width that accommodates multi-use paths, 6 lanes of traffic, and space in the median for dedicated transit, whether it be BRT or LRT.

- A majority of residents as well as the Mount Vernon Council of Community Associations, support and have a preference for rail transit on Route 1.

- MVCCA (at least the Transportation Committee, which I was a member of) supports denser, mixed-use development along Route 1, so that it stays out of the neighborhoods....kinda similar to what Arlington's policy has been along the Orange Line.

- VDOT has not been helpful, and has been agonizingly slow with even the new sidewalks that were promised and funded.

- The county talks a good talk, but has not been very active in its support.

- While residents support changes to Route 1, local business owners have been against it, especially the right-of-way needed to build out the transportation improvements.

- Nothing will happen unless and until there is a huge financial infusion from either the state or the county.

Going along with what @Michael Perkins' said, if transitioning the nonregional Metro bus routes in the District leads to more service, better service, or an imporoved route network... so be it. I am more concerned with a bus agency providing the safest and most efficient bus service vs. a bus agency/union wanting to run service for the sake of preserving Local 689 jobs.

Maybe if WMATA got out of running the nonregional bus routes they could focus more resources on the rail system, which is why WMATA was created in the first place.

I will be e-mailing Ms. Cheh's office voicing my support for this move for the nonregaional/DC-local routes.

I expect that once the Purple Line gets closer to becoming real that it will trigger a more substantive look at Purple Line class LRT in Northern VA. One design goal should be, if feasible, to have the LRT connect to Metro or other transit at more than 1 stop. A light rail line along Rt. 1, connecting to Huntington Metro on the northern end (or going beyond that) should run to the Lorton VRE stop on the SW end. If the Blue Line is extended south of Springfield (after a Blue Line reroute in DC to address the core capacity issues), then the light rail line could run from a Lorton Blue Line & VRE station to Huntington (and perhaps across the Wilson bridge to National Harbor to connect to a MD side LRT line).

One could come up with a number of possible light rail lines filling in the gaps in the Metro coverage around the periphery. 8-)

Can we just set up a reservation in Wyoming or something where all these nutjobs can happily (ignorance is bliss after all) spend their lives waving their rifles around and doing whatever else they do all day?

The thing to keep in mind about the Rt. 1 corridor south of the Beltway is that it is a multi-decade thing. Its state right now is probably what Potomac Yard was about 15-20 years ago. There is plenty of room to grow and it can be done very efficiently a couple of miles at a time.

I have no problem with a CostCo being built at Mt. Vernon just like I have no problem with the strip mall currently occupying Potomac Yard. The one in Potomac Yard will be gone by the end of the decade. The one at Mt. Vernon will probably be there 20 years. It will serve its purpose. Heck, I might get a membership again. I stopped largely because the one at Pentagon City is such a logistical nightmare.

@Froggie - As a Lee district resident, I'd add in that the area residents are all in favor of rail on Rt. 1 and redevelopment right until it will impact them. As was seen during the Penn Daw comp. plan fight, everyone wants to get to heaven, no one wants to die. It's going to be a tough sell to many communities to get the densities required to bring heavy rail to Rt. 1.

Kokesh seems like a publicity hog. What are the odds that he can even scrape up 1000 people dumb enough and dedicated enough to do this? A lot of people talk big and that's all. In any event, there's the sociology principle where in-your-face deviance actually reenforces social norms.

If the open carry movement is successful in anything, it's likely to be a stronger and more visible police state that people will support to balance out these looney tunes. That would just justify their paranoia so we'll end up with a feedback loop arms race. Pure non-violence is the only way for sustainable change because everything else is just escalation of violence.

In Alexndria capital costs for Capital Bikeshare are funded by federal grants, and the operations are funded through the Citys Transportation Improvement Program, which is a reserved 2.2 cents on the real estate tax rate and a continuing annual cash capital contribution for improvements to the Citys transportation infrastructure and services. The reserved 2.2 cents was approved in the FY 2012 budget and was not increased in this years budget. Tony Castrilli, Director of Communications and Public Information for the City of Alexandria.

I have a basic question. who are these 70,000 families that are on an affordable housing waiting list? They can't all be homeless! Do we have any data about how most of these 70,000 are currently living? And how will giving them vouchers or free housing help them and help the community? I'm curious, since there is no way there is suddenly going to be money to house 70,000 families!

Chris: from my experience (also as a 22303'er but in Huntington proper), Jefferson Manor (and possibly Gum Springs) residents are the exception to the rule. Huntington residents are clearly in support of redevelopment, even (and especially) along Huntington Ave itself.

movement/selxid: I think a better analogy for Route 1 would be the Ballston-Rosslyn corridor pre-Orange Line.

@Adam: Carrying a loaded weapon in public is an inherently violent action, in my mind, I.e. intentionally intimidating and threatening, and an intentional demonstration of power/force in violation of our city's laws.

Within the confines of our capitol city there are jillions of police, in dozens of flavors, all carrying loaded weapons. You yourself point out that DCPD and the Park Police will respond in kind to any loud noise issuing from the marchers, with the loaded weapons they carry every day. How are they not intimidating?

I agree that the march is provocative, but apparently the participants want to take the risk among the jumpy police. As all involved claim to be "law abiding" to the highest degree, this should be interesting.

I can't imagine why someone would feel less threatened by trained police officers with guns than by a group of rights-promoting yahoos with guns!

They're all "law-abiding" because they don't accept as legitimate the laws they seek to break. And that's what scares some people - they don't seem to accept the fact that they may be stopped/arrested.

I grew up with many people who owned guns and I know many people now who own guns. Getting into the middle of a tense situation like a protest march with a bunch of loaded guns is not something any of those people would participate in.

To imply that this behavior and rhetoric is typical of people "in the hinterlands" or gun owners in general is incorrect and I clearly was speaking of this particular group.

MLD: The point of the march is to exercise rights. The people doing so are going to be serious about that, and will traveling long distances at high personal expense. I doubt that they will be "yahoos".

I agree that this is a touchy problem. But labeling them with pejorative terms adds fuel the fire.

But labeling them with pejorative terms adds fuel the fire.
Then in the future express that sentiment instead of invoking an (incorrectly) perceived lack of personal experience on the part of another. Thanks for your contribution.

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